Chapter 3: Plants with Benefits
Photo by Matthew Smith on Unsplash
Learning Intentions
By the end of this chapter, you may be able to …
- Identify and describe plant selection characteristics to promote environmental, economic, and social sustainability.
- Identify native and invasive species local to your region.
- Describe your role as a landscape horticulturist in the spread of invasive species and evaluate tools and practices to stop the spread of invasive species.
Let’s Review
Let’s begin with a review of Chapter 2 where we looked at biodiversity and how it refers to the variety of plant and animal species that exist in a given landscape. Biodiversity is important for maintaining a greener, healthier, and more sustainable ecosystem, and landscape horticulturists can promote biodiversity by using native plants, creating habitats for wildlife, and avoiding the use of harmful chemicals.
Overall, prioritizing biodiversity in landscape horticulture can help create resilient and thriving landscapes that regenerate and reciprocate with the local environment. The guiding questions in Chapter 2 asked you to reflect on your role in the wider ecosystem as a landscape horticulturist and describe how you may influence the landscape and be influenced by the landscape through your choices and actions.
Introduction
Keywords: drought tolerance, heat tolerance, provenance
Our theme in Chapter 3: Plants with Benefits is how selecting the right plant for the right place is essential for long-term plant health and plant success in the landscape and wider ecosystem in a warming climate. In this chapter, we will look to natural ecosystems for examples of landscape management strategies and discuss the damaging role invasive species have on natural ecosystems. Finally, we will introduce alternative considerations for selecting plants and the benefits these plants have on the environment and society.
The concept of the right plant for the right place is threaded throughout the pan-Canadian harmonized landscape horticulture competencies across Canada. When selecting plant material for a landscape, we know to consider certain characteristics, such as:
- The environmental conditions: when selecting plants for a particular area, it’s important to consider the environmental conditions of that area. Factors such as sunlight, temperature, soil quality, and moisture levels should be taken into account. for example, a plant that requires full sun and well-draining soil will not thrive in a shady and moist location.
- The mature size: another important factor to consider is the mature size of the plant. Some plants grow very tall and wide, while others remain small and compact. Choosing the right size plant for the space you have will help prevent overcrowding and ensure that each plant has enough room to grow and thrive.
- The plant’s specific requirements: before selecting a plant, we can research to learn about its specific needs and requirements. This includes things like